I'm Going Slightly Mad
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2022}}
{{more citations needed|date=October 2019}}
{{Infobox song
| name = I'm Going Slightly Mad
| cover = Queen Im Going Slightly Mad.png
| alt =
| border = yes
| caption = Artwork for UK release
| type = single
| artist = Queen
| album = Innuendo
| B-side =
- "The Hitman"
- "Lost Opportunity"{{cite web |title=Queen UK Singles Discography 1984-1991 |url=http://www.ultimatequeen.co.uk/queen/discography/singles-2.htm#I'm%20Going%20Slightly%20Mad |website=www.ultimatequeen.co.uk}}
| released = {{start date|1991|3|4|df=y}}{{cite magazine|title=New Releases: Singles|magazine=Music Week|page=vi|date=2 March 1991}}
| recorded = 1990
| studio =
| venue =
| genre = Synth-pop{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uAV0DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA190|title=Queen: Album by Album|last=Popoff|first=Martin|date=27 November 2018|publisher=Voyageur Press|isbn=9780760362839|page=190|access-date=11 June 2020}}
| length =
- 4:22 (CD version)
- 4:09 (LP edit)
| label =
- Parlophone (Europe)
| writer = Queen (Freddie Mercury and Peter Straker)
| producer =
- Queen
- David Richards
| prev_title = Innuendo
| prev_year = 1991
| next_title = Headlong
| next_year = 1991
| misc = {{External music video|{{YouTube|Od6hY_50Dh0|"I'm Going Slightly Mad"}}}}
}}
"I'm Going Slightly Mad" is a song by the British rock band Queen. Written by Freddie Mercury but credited to Queen, with uncredited lyrical contributions by Peter Straker, it was released as the second single from the band's 1991 album Innuendo. The song was released as a single on 4 March 1991, a month after the release of the album. The lyrics and the accompanying music video project the song as humorous and lighthearted,{{cite web|date=15 February 1991|website=Los Angeles Times|title="Innuendo" review|url=http://www.queenarchives.com/index.php?title=Queen_-_02-15-1991_-_Innuendo_-_LA_Times}} despite the lyrics dealing with the mental decline Mercury was experiencing as one of the effects of advancing AIDS{{Citation needed|date=April 2025}}.
The single cover was inspired by a Grandville illustration (as are the others from the album).
Background
"I'm Going Slightly Mad" had been mentioned by John Deacon in a letter printed in the Queen Fan Club magazine of Spring 1990.{{cite book|last1=Lemieux|first1=Patrick|last2=Unger|first2=Adam|title=The Queen Chronology: The Recording & Release History of the Band|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KgHxBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA79|year=2013|publisher=Across The Board Books|isbn=978-0-9919840-4-6|page=79}} Deacon revealed that work was being done on the song, calling it the "whacky single". Mercury composed the song; he had the song's title in mind before anything else. During an evening with his friend Peter Straker, Mercury explained his idea for the song, which he wanted to feature lyrics of tongue-in-cheek one-liners inspired by Noël Coward. The pair then spent the night coming up with such lines.{{cite book|last1=Hutton|first1=Jim|last2=Wapshott|first2=Tim|title=Mercury and Me|year=1994|publisher=Bloomsbury Pub Ltd|isbn=978-0747519225|page=156}}
In his 1994 book Mercury and Me, Mercury's partner Jim Hutton recalled:
{{blockquote|Freddie set about with Peter trying to come up with a succession of goofy lyrics, each funnier than the last. He screamed when they came up with things like "I'm knitting with only one needle" and "I'm driving on only three wheels these days". But the master-stroke was: "I think I'm a banana tree". Once that came out there was no stopping Freddie and Straker{{snd}} they were then in full flow. I went to bed to fall asleep listening to their laughter wafting upstairs.}}
During 1991, Mercury recorded a short, "Totally Bonkers" version of the song as a message for Queen's 1991 fan club convention. The version, less than a minute in length, features different instrumentation, lyrics and vocal than that used in the main, full Queen recording of the song.{{cite web |url=http://www.ultimatequeen.co.uk/queen/songs/demos-1.htm#I%27m%20Going%20Totally%20Mad |title=Queen Demos of Released Tracks A-I Lyrics |publisher=Ultimate Queen |date=29 April 2017 |access-date=3 June 2017}}
Critical reception
Upon its release as a single, Sylvia Patterson of Smash Hits described "I'm Going Slightly Mad" as "blustering Queen pomp rock as usual".{{cite magazine |last=Patterson |first=Sylvia |title=Review: Singles |magazine=Smash Hits |date=6 March 1991 |volume=13 |issue=5 |page=43 |issn=0260-3004}} Chris Roberts of Melody Maker remarked, "I am prepared to go along with the perennial seer and prophet Fred Mercury. This is the very song where he makes the now-infamous claim that he is "a banana tree". So it's Fyffes stars for this one!"{{cite magazine |last=Roberts |first=Chris |title=Singles |magazine=Melody Maker |date=16 March 1991 |page=33 |issn=0025-9012}} Robin Smith of Record Mirror was negative in his review, calling it "more crud from Queen" and "another incomprehensible single with Freddie sounding strangely like Billy Mackenzie – a terrifying thought indeed".{{cite magazine |last=Smith |first=Robin |title=Singles |magazine=Record Mirror |date=9 March 1991 |page=15 |issn=0144-5804}}
Music video
The accompanying video was directed by Rudi Dolezal and Hannes Rossacher of DoRo Productions. Like all other Innuendo videos, it was filmed in February 1991 at Limehouse Studios. Costumes were created by Diana Moseley.{{Cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MpWQexhBoE&t=1036s | title=Freestone: "Freddie Mercury starb in meinen Armen" | krone.tv Ohne Maulkorb, mit Dolezal | website=YouTube | date=17 May 2021 }}{{Cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTIDhNIqNO4&t=84s | title=Freddie Mercury Memorial Day Montreux 2011 with Diana Moseley and Peter Freestone | website=YouTube | date=27 September 2014 }} It features the band dressed and acting in an absurd and surreal manner, including guitarist Brian May dressed as a penguin (a reprise of his outfit featured in the booklet of the first Queen album{{cite web |url=http://www.brianmay.com/brian/brianssb/brianssboct09a.html#07 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120722224253/http://www.brianmay.com/brian/brianssb/brianssboct09a.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=22 July 2012 |title=Brians Soapbox October 2009 |publisher=Brianmay.com |access-date=11 January 2012 }}), drummer Roger Taylor wearing a tea kettle on his head and riding a tricycle while Mercury sneaks up on him and is chasing him, a man in a gorilla suit, bassist John Deacon as a jester, and Mercury wearing a bunch of bananas as a wig, which corresponds with the line "I think I'm a banana tree".
"I'm Going Slightly Mad" is the last Queen video to feature significant creative input from Mercury. He was already considerably ill at the time due to AIDS, which would claim his life less than a year later. Despite this, the viewer sees Mercury as very mobile and expressive in the scenes of the video. He even actively co-directed some of the video's storyboards. Mercury wore thick makeup to cover up the blotches on his face, and an extra layer of clothing underneath to conceal his weight loss. He also wore a wig, and a suit, both in the goth-inspired style popular at the time.
In contrast, in the video for "These Are the Days of Our Lives", the last music video which Mercury ever filmed (in May 1991), he hardly moved around at all, as his condition had deteriorated further. However, both of these videos were shot in black and white.{{cite episode |title= The Queen Phenomenon|series=The Queen Phenomenon |airdate= 1995}}
Track listings
:A. "I'm Going Slightly Mad" – 4:22
:B. "The Hitman" – 4:56
- "I'm Going Slightly Mad" – 4:22
- "The Hitman" – 4:56
- "Lost Opportunity" – 3:51
Personnel
{{Unreferenced section|date=August 2022}}
- Freddie Mercury – lead and backing vocals, Korg M1 synthesizer, piano, sampler
- Brian May – guitars, backing vocals
- Roger Taylor – drums, maracas, bar chimes, drum machine
- John Deacon – bass guitar
Charts
| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
!Chart (1991) !Peak |
| {{single chart|Flanders|39|artist=Queen|song=I'm Going Slightly Mad|rowheader=true|access-date=3 August 2022}} |
| scope="row"|Europe (Eurochart Hot 100){{cite magazine|title=Eurochart Hot 100 Singles|magazine=Music & Media|volume=8|issue=14|page=37|date=6 April 1991}}
|51 |
|---|
| {{single chart|Germany|42|artist=Queen|song=I'm Going Slightly Mad|songid=8075|rowheader=true|access-date=3 August 2022}} |
| {{single chart|Ireland2|19|song=I'm Going Slightly Mad|songid=8075|rowheader=true|access-date=3 August 2022}} |
| {{single chart|Dutch40|13|artist=Queen|song=I'm Going Slightly Mad|rowheader=true|access-date=21 August 2020}} |
| {{single chart|Dutch100|20|artist=Queen|song=I'm Going Slightly Mad|rowheader=true|access-date=3 August 2022}} |
| {{single chart|UKsinglesbyname|22|artist=Queen|artistid=21275|rowheader=true|access-date=3 August 2022}} |
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{YouTube|id=Od6hY_50Dh0|title=Official music video}}
- [http://www.queenonline.com/en/the-band/discography/innuendo/#lyrics Lyrics at Queen official website]
{{Queen singles}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Im Going Slightly Mad}}
Category:British synth-pop songs
Category:Hollywood Records singles
Category:Music videos directed by Hannes Rossacher
Category:Music videos shot in London